UK Firms Ask For State Energy Finance

By Monique Wessels

In support of the marine energy sector, both the UK and Scottish governments have been encouraged to adopt a collaborative relationship. Aquamarine Power is asking ministers to raise the amount of finance offered to the sector.

With headquarters stationed in Edinburgh, Aquamarine Power set out to present its case for added financial backing from the state. This was officially submitted to Holyrood’s Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee.

The Scottish government is under investigation by MSPs with regard to its targets for renewable energy for 2020. The chief executive of Aquamarine Power, Martin McAdam, is set to provide evidence for the case. The company made a comparison between the kind of financial support offered to the sectors of marine energy and the nuclear sector in a written submission. This was done in a bid to show how contrasting the funding is between the two, with the nuclear sector experiencing much more support in way of finances from the state.

The submission outlined that it was the belief of Aquamarine Power that if the UK really did want marine energy to present a leading position in the industry, they would have to consider making more funding available. It went on to state that where the nuclear sector was getting a grant of £2 billion each year from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the marine energy sector was only getting a grant of £20 million.

Aquamarine Power’s Oyster wave energy technology was put out at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, where they stated that the funding issue needed to be addressed by both UK and Scottish governments. They went on to say that the two needed to work together in financial support of the sector, which could come in way of government-backed loans or even government equity.

Aquamarine Power has plans to establish profitable Oyster wave energy farms across the globe. The firm stated that Scotland stands to gain greatly from this initiative because they are leaders around the world in marine energy technologies where wave and tidal energy is concerned. By offering more funding to the sector they will be able to cement this position and set up a globally superior export enterprise that could end up creating approximately 19 000 UK jobs by 2020, a number that can grow significantly to 68 000 by 2050.